That guy looks pretty young, wonder what medical condition he has that he needs marijuana to survive.

I think if you really want this medical marijuana thing to catch you should start giving stories of people injured that couldn't live without the marijuana. Ask their family members how they were before using and how they are now. I don't support medical marijuana because i think its just a bunch of kids saying my back hurts or i can't sleep that are getting cards. I've only read one article where it sounded like the marijuana actually helped the injured person live a normal life.

wow

i dont think they should legalize this in California. Just gos to show how $#@% up our state is. elected leaders are not concerned with the behavior of the youth. rather that all the tax revenue for the state. we all will be voting on this in November. and i vote no. our kids are high on enough drugs from the pharmaceutical cocktails as it is. the globalist attitude is just out to destroy America futures by retardation of our youth.

lets get a natural born citizen to run the state. his education cuts are more proof of globalist agendas attack on American youth.

FYI Placer County's Comunity Health clinic a division of HHS ( Health and Human services) gives out for free medical marijuana prescription card's to patients that have a medical condition that qualifys for the perscription. And i believe it is placer county doctors that do the perscribing as well. All in all clubs are safer to make a purchase than some home boy in the greens.

If they were really interested in the medical aspect, they could buy Marinol from a pharmacy. It is marijuana in pill form that provides the medicinal qualities without the high. They don't want that though. They want to smoke or eat part of the plant with an unregulated amount of THC in it for the high. In short, medicinal marijuana is almost as big a scam as global warming.

Tax it, use the tax money to regulate it, every one wins just like alcohol and cigs. Of course the cig tax money is used for other purposes than dealing with the health issues that smoking causes, id like to see what the county does with the money....

I really believe that pot has medicinal value. I had a friend now deceased that smoked or ingested pot while undergoing chemo. I also have a very good friend who is very much alive that had no problem obtaining a recommendation from a Doctor for Medical marijuana, there is really nothing wrong with him other than he's 68 years old with the normal aches and pains that come with age, he rides a motorcycle and quite frankly likes to smoke pot. He's always telling me to go to "his" Doctor so I can do the same. I have yet to convince him that I don't want to smoke pot.

I thought the same thing about the kid in the picture, I wondered what ailed him so much that he had to do pot.

Perhaps if there were a shred of honesty in these folks and they quit trying to hide behind those that really need the pot people would be more receptive about non medical use.

I don't care if you smoke or for what purpose, I DO care when you chose to recreate and go out and kill someone. Refer back to one of the stories today in which a young man, under the influence of alcohol and marijuana ended the life of a young lady and is causing tremendous pain to another human being, not to mention the grieving by family and friends.

Smoke if if you got it, just be considerate of others.

Aren't liquor stores vending drugs that kill people in accidents? Why do we not speak of banning them? Is alcohol benificial: no? Do kids drink it and kill each other: yes.

yeah, i don't give two hoots about who smokes what and why. if its a problem for a person they should stop but what you do on your time with yourself is none of my concern. what i do see here is a fantastic chance to generate revenue for a cash strapped budget muddled state and county. legalize it, tax it. charge outrageous permit fees to open these shops, outrageous growing permits, and outrageous fines to unpermitted growers including forfeiture of property. we would be debt free and california would be booming in 5-10 years.

More pot equals less employees. Pot smokers will either be unemployed or have minimum wage jobs if they show up to work. That will not increase the tax base. Anyway, even if it is taxed, people will still buy it illegally to avoid paying the taxes. As I said above, biggest scam since global warming.

It is legal,accept it,get over it and welcome to 2010. fred

If you want to fight against something dangerous fight against alcohol. It is the real problem .If you have not at least tried marijuana then mind YOUR own business,quit playing doctor,I dont need you to hold my hand. I've done very well in life and marijuana has been there nearly every step of the way.

to wildfire 13, just a bunch of kids? You're an idiot.

calmdown fred420.

Fred420:

What is it that you do in life very well, beside use marijuana?

How many years have you been dependent on it?

Hopefully your medical condition is not serious.

Just curious......

enderr, how does more pot equal less jobs? And why will smokers be unemployed or have min. wage jobs?

The synthetic cannabinoid (marinol) is not as effective on some illnesses as the natural (plant) cannabinoid. In fact, some people have complained that they experience anxiety and other negative side affects. The natural cannabinoid has also been found to be successful as an anti-anxiety and anti-depression treatment.

I know many people who smoke pot on a regular basis, and they all lead productive/successful lives.

you want to smoke pot? fine. but don't attach the term "medical" to it unless they start dispensing it from the hospital in a clinical setting. wow, id love to be able to get my "meds" from a house with a nice front porch, rather than standing in line for 30 mins. at CVS. lol

The whole medical marijuana thing is a scam by a bunch of pot heads and hippies to legitamize and rationalize their drug abuse. Cudos to our politicos for making the right decision.

At least cities are under their own juridiction to decide...hopefully some will change their tune....More importantly, hopefully marijuana legalization will come to fruition this November which will then render this ban null & void.

everybody knows that legalizing recreational drugs will make money because it can be TAXED!

The other aspect that will probably happen is that MARKET FORCES will reduce the potency of marijuana and cocaine as it will be cheaper to

1. Hold a hose and grow your own.

2. Just go ahead and chew those leaves.

I also imagine that meth and crack production would go down as they are the poor man's coke. Both of the before mentioned substances are very, very bad for you.

We'll save the discussion of how crack got introduced into LA for another day.

Call it what it is. Recreational use. Not that I really care what people do recreationally but the taxation argument is laced with ignorance. If drug users can pay $60 for a bag of weed on the street vs & $75 at a dispensary they are going to buy it off the street and no taxes will be collected. Let's see, $75 for one bag or $60 on the street. Thay can save $15 and have enough for another half bag. Use another argument like the fact that drug users just want to get high. They will not pay taxes if they can buy it cheaper.

endrr - Marinol doesn't always work. I knew a beautiful elderly woman who used marinol in the last stages of her breast cancer. It did not work to fight the extreme nausea she experienced from chemotherapy. Out of desperation, her son put a joint and matches by her bedside. He came back later to find it partially smoked. She was then able to not only get relief from her extreme nausea which kept her from being able to eat or keep down her food, she got an appetite that allowed her eat quite well until she slipped into a coma. It convinced me that pot can be an act of Mercy. I don't smoke pot but I wholeheartedly agree that it needs to have a place in medicine. Placer County needs to come to the table with an open mind, which it sorely lacks

I think we already see the dangers of alcohol by reading the tragic stories today. Why the average person would choose alcohol over a much less dangerous thing as pot is beyond comprehension to me. Of course, total abstinence is the best thing...unless it is medicinal

Wow this county is full of uneducated, ignorant residents. Medical marijuana is as big of a scam as Global Warming? Kids are going to do more drugs because of legalization? You compared it to Crack? Seriously? Just how stupid are you people. . . ?

Marijuana is about the most benign substance one could consume for a recreational or medical purpose. Half of Placer County is addicted to prescription drugs such as vicodin and Norco, not to mention the huge problem with alcohol and Meth. Marijuana is not, in any way, as detrimental to a society as any of these. There isn't a person dying every hour in this country from a stoned driver. But there is from alcohol. I use it medically and in recreation daily and have been for about 10 years. I managed to get BS and MS degrees from UCSB in sciences while doing so. I have a great job and I'm incredibly productive; I'm quite satisfied with my contribution to this county and state.

Perhaps my argument is that Marijuana is not the issue, its the lack of intelligence involved in the decision-making process of its legalization. Anyone can become a worthless member of society without pot. All it takes is ignorance. Lets tax it appropriately, regulate it appropriately, and get CA back out of economic dire straights.

very well said, thanks

I am the person in the picture and my illness is of no concern to any of you. obviously non of you are medical perfessionals and wouldnt know that Marinal the perscription drug releases thb which happens to be more phsycoactive and a "body" high. what this bill is proposing is that we keep Marijuana in the hands of drug dealers and more crime. sorry to be a ball buster but people dont hold up medical collectives and we do not raise havoc once on our meds. I actually work in a pharmacy and know what pharmacutical drugs do to the human body. pretty much your all really dumb and you should just put your foot in your mouth and read a book. P.S. wildfire13 move out of your mothers basement.

It appears the growing movement to legalize Marijuana is now hanging their hat on how to get the state out of it's financial situation if we legalize Marijuanna and tax it. I would rather have the state go bankrupt before I vote yes to legalize such a destructive drug. I have seen how this drug opens doors for our younger generations to expand to harder substances. I do not want to make it any easier to get. I do not want to make it cheaper. I do not want my children coming home and saying why not dad it's legal. I do not want to watch as our society becomes even less productive. And no it is not up for discussion or compromise. I encourage parents and law makers to continue to battle this push to legalize what i can only describe as a major change as to how we all live our lives from here on out.

Dear "the guy in the picture",

Either you oaksterdam alumni card or your prescription card is expired... You should get that checked out.

eyeswide1, i am totally on your side but you lost me after the first sentence. if you dont present pure data you can back up with facts your opponents will quickly cut your case in shreds. potshops do get robbed, dont use the word "high" when describing medicines, and dont call people dumb, it comes across as immature. same thing fred420 fell into.

your first sentence though, its on the money. it is none of my concern what you have and what you do about it. smoke all you want just know you're gonna pay uncle sam on it.

Sbtransplant, half of Placer County is hooked on prescrip drugs.? Really? 50%? where did you arrive at those statistics. Please prove it. As far as getting dispensaries open to get the weed out of drug dealer's hands that is as ignorant as it gets. Drug dealers will offer the weed at 0% tax. Dope smokers don't want to pay more than they need to. It's what capitalism is based on. The argument that it will produce tax revenue is as idiotic as the argument that it would eliminate dope dealers. Anyone making that argument has smoked a bit too much of the product.

Still don't see why weed is the only "prescription medicine" that need it's own special store. If it's really a medicine, what's the problem? Take your little paper to Long's or Walmarn and get your "medicine". Never heard of a Vicodin dispensary or an Amoxicillin dispensary. Only a dope dispensary.

SB - Well said :-)

EyesWide - It took a lot of courage to speak up like you have.People may take you more seriously though if you try not to insult others. It puts you on the "high road."

Henry - Like anything else, one must practice discipline in whatever one does. Pot can be destructive when abused, just like eating too much makes one fat and unhealthy.

Harley - Maybe the people you hang out with are not honest merchants but there is a whole new breed of young people who not only work in this dispensary business but they are responsible, well-informed, honest, hardworking and becoming very successful at it. I'm not so inclined to shoot them down before hearing them out.

Notice Sabistina got his "recommendation" to use pot from a marijuana doctor, not a general practitioner. That's because "medical" marijuana is a profit issue, not a medical one. A GP wouldn't be issuing a lot of marijuana recommendations, but a marijuana doctor, well....that's all they do. It's is a profit vehicle for them, not a medicinal issue. The have prostituted their profession.

Sbtransplant, is just making up facts and figures to support an unsupportable stand Harelyrider.

Observer, apparently the planning commission was more then willing to shoot them down for the sake of the rest of us. And go for them for doing so.

My mom was against smoking pot BUT realized the medicinal value in her last 5 years of life as she had cancer all through her body, was taking up to 17 pills a day PLUS dealing with radiation and chemo. The marijuana allowed her to have a life, helped her deal with the nausea and other issues.

I feel that the government should regulate it like tobacco. Test it, tax it and allow this to help California to get out of the ditch we are in. Whether any of these things happens, one thing is clear - people will always smoke pot - legal or not.

Observer, what the heck you talking about? You been smoking?

Again, lack of education seems to be the largest problem here, not pot. I did not accredit any source in saying "half of PC," it was simply a figure of speech. You're retarded.

However, if you would like some local info on real drugs that hold dangerous abilities, you can go here: http://ca.rand.org/stats/health/drug.html

Here: http://nationalsubstanceabuseindex.org/california/stats.php

or: www.canorml.org/

and here: http://www.justice.gov/dea/ongoing/calimarijuana.html

Legalization would be solving many problems at once and there are many people on either side of each case. But when large communities with largely educated and contemporary people such as SF, LA, Sacramento, North Coast regions, and San Diego already have small-scale legalization efforts (which have fruited good results) it is apparent that Placer County is behind. Far, far behind. This is an opportunity to reduce illegal operations of marijuana production such as Mexican cartels operating out of National Forests, educate our youth with FACTUAL information regarding the substances and their properties, AND MAKE TAX DOLLARS. This state is the largest producer of Marijuana in the country without legalization and that is not going to change regardless of legislation. We can continue spending more money on a horrible effort to criminalize pot and incarcerate law-breakers, or accept what the industry has become in this state and make the best out of it by putting forth proper actions …

PS. If weed is for sale at the grocery store (maybe in the same aisle as booze), I'm gonna buy it there instead of a drug dealer. Seems like it would be a lot easier, safer, and allowing for variety as opposed to some guy in a smoky upstairs 1-bedroom that wants to be my new best friends and talk about random crap online. Better yet, lets just put plants for sale at a nursery and that way everyone can just grow their own.

When I was on chemo the doctors first started me on some kind of thc pill, way too strong. I switched to Marinol besides the side efects it was impossible to keep the food down so I switched to medical pot. It stopped the rapid weight loss but came in unpredictable dosages. I would like to see that addressed. I wanted to stop nausea not get high.

Some pot reduces or eliminates the need for prescription pain killers like Vicodin which is a good thing. Some pot helps people get back their appetite. Banning these shops is idiotic. It does nothing to protect us from druggies and in fact supports the criminal element.

Here's a description as to why I don't smoke any longer: "you find yourself thinking about something deeply introspective (meta-cognition) and then completely forget what you were thinking about, then spend all your mental energy on trying to remember what you were thinking about, only for you to forget that you were trying to remember something you forgot about and just start to think about something completely different. ~ Urban dictionary

My memory is cherished as it slowly slips away. I can't do much about that. But I can stop doing things that make it worse.

I hope placer. County sheriffs stake out heer and stabina, watch them drive off, pull them over and arrest them for driving under the influence of drugs....medical marijuana is sugar-coated BS. Pot heads don't realize the damage they are doing....I'm a former addict and yes it really does do damage, takes years to show up very subtle mmm hmmm

Anyone that seriously considers smoking pot to be a danger to society better put just as much of their vehemence and energy toward supporting a ban on alcohol, cigarettes, and fast food. Those things are WAY more destructive than smoking a silly joint.

No pot dispensaries? Fine, then close McDonald's and every liquor store in the state. At least then the hypocrisy wouldn't be so blinding.

Smoke Pot = be mellow, overall friendly, and many people helped with ailments. Occasionally forgetful or lazy. Never a single overdose death from pot has ever occurred.

Drink Booze = loss of motor function, running over little kids on the road while drunk, beating wives, heart disease, failed livers, alcoholism and terrible hangovers. Over 100,000 alcohol related deaths per year.

It's only those that have never tried marijuana that are so paranoid about this issue. Those that have tried it know that it's relatively safe and medically viable. It's also a great way to relax and relieve stress.

Is a businessman taking a bong-hit after a long day really any different than a stressed-out mom drinking wine and popping a valium?

Just to be clear: smokin' the herb is not a good long-term decision and some people are lazy stoners. But c'mon people, I bet half of the nay-sayers in this forum currently have a Scotch-n-rocks in their hand right now. Put it into perspective, will ya?

Zero medical value: kubby spent a month in placer county lockup and didn't even suffer, except for some anxiety from coming out of the haze. They all said his life depended on it. Do you still believe them?

Marijuana might not waste brain cells but it is a waste of money. Its a health hazard kills motivation, and will lead to a dull life.

Smoking it through bacteria laced bongwater doesn't improve your health. Sitting around stoned doesn't improve your social life.

Indoor grow operations are notorious sources of CO2. Environmental hypocrites smoke it anyway. Might as well leave your hummer idling all day.

Smoking pot certainly hasn't helped SBtransplant become more friendly. He seems quite angry. I find it entertaining the pot smokers claim pot makes them mellow but they are on here name calling and touting there superior intelligence. Chuxx comment above is a good example of why legalized pot would create a greater demand on the welfare programs in CA. Pot smokers, at least very few of them work. They don't have the motivation to go to work. Sbtransplant claims to be educated and successful. He is probably in sales. Sells what he can and smokes the rest.

Let's do the math. Young man + booze + pot = tragic loss of life on I-80. Let's assume the addition of pot stores in the community will increase the frequency of this outcome by anything more than 0. That is a high price for our community to pay so that the scripts can get their stuff locally, instead of down-the-road. I assume those up-the-road will grow their own, and keep it out of the hands of our kids. But even then, the risk is probably not zero, or we we would not be talking about the recent losses. This is such a sad, sad, sad discussion.

Of course, the drug wars in Mexico could be an argument for making the junk legal. What it should do is make people stop. It rots your brain, makes you lazy, and if you abuse it with booze, you too can be a statistical victim. Or even worse, take others with you.

For you pot heads who grow your own, and ensure kids never get access, yeah, yeah, yeah. This ain't directed at you, go roll another one, eat up, and listen to dark side of the moon again. Wow, look at that full moon! Not what were you talking about?

Even if they let these people buy pot legally or let them get it through a prescription., they cannot hold a job, they cannot drive and they are a danger to others while under the influence just like alcoholics are - period. People will keep committing crimes to get the drug, and it wiil increase the illegal imports from Mexico, because they can sell it much cheaper on the black market. iam against this big time. If you are terminally ill, you most likely can`t work and leave the house, so go ahead and get wasted, but every body else needs to get a grip and get off the easy road, and deal with life, stress and whatever else they can`t handle!!! There were people decades ago who went to war, worked several jobs, raised bunch of kids and all without smoking dope and getting wasted. Grow a pair of balls people!

Right on optict1. You said it. These hippies need to grow up and contribute something to this great country. I've yet to see a pot head amount to a hill of beans. Sure, they will say Ben Franklin or someone took bong hits every day but it's all bull.

"A medicinal marijuana patient who drinks cannabis-infused tea because of allergies..."

I predicted that the medical marijuana laws, enacted with pictures of cancer patients who were suffering from chemo therapy, would be abused and soon every teenager with a hang-nail would be getting prescriptions from unscrupulous doctors.

Its not a matter of being a fortune teller, just common sense.

Now we see an explosion in "hydroponic shops" selling gear to grow dope. While only a few people have legal rights to grow pot, these shops are not lacking customers. No law requires them to check for a card before selling fertilizer like "Bud Heaven" or ultra-violet lights.

Next year, with all of the new dopers on the scene, we can expect legalization of pot, more automobile accidents and deaths due to pot, and more people sitting on a couch, smoking dope, and demanding welfare rather than working.

BTW: Some people can show up to work totally straight, work all day productively, go home and have a joint.

Many people who smoke dope will readily get to the point where they wake up in the morning, have a toke or two, get showered and put some visine in their eyes, then get in their car to head for work where they will do a mediocre job.

Their performance lapses, the boss tells them to take a hike.

Then, unemployed, they take the unemployment insurance and smoke dope while playing video games at home.

Pot is not like alcohol. Its more like tobacco with a high.

Who do you know that smokes cigarettes only between 7p and 9p???

They wake up and have a smoke. For dopers, they wake up, have a smoke, get high.

I just took a bong rip and now I'm going to do my taxes. Also, I'm a millionaire.

The one thing obvious in all these posts is that people adamantly defend their position based on what they practice, without hesitation, without the facts. If you don't like the facts, just call them erroneous...

Auburner, who died and left you the money. As a pot head you certainly didn't earn it........unless it was from sales. And please don't drive to your accountant after taking the bong rip. Too many DUI deaths already.

As I've commented before medical marijuana is a valid medicine as a patient of chronic pain and having worked as a paramedic/firefighter for ten years, numerous times I have seen patients who have benefited from MEDICAL MARIJUANA. The report from the county stating grow houses, increased crime etc. was referring to illegal marijuana and not medical marijuana

To toke or not to toke, medicinal is not part of this equation. Prop 215 was written by pot heads that had an agenda to get legalized usage for all those that liked the "low" that it delivers. If any of you and that includes the users(if you can concentrate long enough) have ever read the complete "law" as written, know it is pure and simple a tool to allow uncontrolled pot use. No prescription is necessary, only a doctor's recommendation. Amount in possession, who grows it, who transports it and the dispensaries that deal in cash only show that the law is a farce. If ever an initiative that became law needed to be challenged 215 was the godfather of them all.

You that believe that smoking a joint is harmless to your pulmonary system show what fools you are, that want to legalize a substance that dulls your senses, is a carcinogen and causes diminished capacity. Most pot users that I know, smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. Wrong way driver kills himself and the driver of another car at Newcastle, toxicity report shows alcohol and pot.

Take your shot using NORMAL for all your information that tries to refute the carcinogen issue. Inhaling a carbon laced substance is a carcinogen whether it is tobacco, exhaust from vehicles or inhaling anything that burns that contains particulates.

enderr: I earned it by selling the inventions I engineered using my college degree. POW! Also, I email my stuff so I don't have to drive; it is easier on the environment. Plus there are too many pill poppers, drunks and senior citizens on the road these days. I also want to point out that not one of your sentences was punctuated properly. Not that I am nit-picking, but 'holier-than-thou' attitudes should at least be backed with some semblance of intelligence.

WoW! As I read these comments wondering how my community feels. I see that there's a lack of information. I also wonder if these people

had alittle more education on the topic, would it make a difference to them. I'm afraid that what has been ingrained in some theres no changing.

People hear me out, its coming and theres nothing you or I can do about it. So regulate, tax and if it doesn't pertain to you, then please alllow

these people a place to go in there last days. As for the pot heads on the street, thats where there always going to be no matter what steps we take. And those above who question the medical part. I hope that you never get that sick, where medical marijuana can make a change or a difference. OR YOUR LOVED ONE

Auburner: LOL. If you ask me, the medicinal pot theory is a bunch of hooey, has some practical applications for the significantly ill or dying but the rest of the people it seems are just using it to rationalize use. however, recreational use of pot isn't so bad. i dont smoke pot, have before but just dont like it. i feel alcohol is worse but to make the comparison is like deciding between a machete or a razor blade. but cut, both hurt, and both only when used with poor judgement. lets legalize herb, tax the snot out of at it every stage, and the let the stoners get stoned. not my business what you smoke and why. the whole anit-pot propaganda was faulty good ole boy back slappin' politics to begin with anyway. the argument against pot is based on these psycho-terrorist information programs and have about as much unbiased data as the argument for pot. people are GOING to grow sell smoke pot. let uncle sam get in on it. its addicting you say. True. that just secures the funds. if people are dumb enough to smoke weed they should be taxed anyway.

Legalizing pot will not make a dent in the Mexican drug cartel operations. People who smoke pot will still purchase it illegally rather than pay a higher price at the store. SB, your argument is based on no facts. The tax revenue you speak of will not come to fruition so try a different tactic. Auburner, you have smoked one too many. You pointed out someone else's grammatical error but ignored your own. Exactly how does a college degree engineer? Does it think? Does it design? You may have used some of your training from your college years to assist you in engineering but a degree can't engineer.

Opicat, I totally agree. These morons trying to sell propagnada and say the state can be rescued by this financial mess via the tax revenue are idiots. Black markets exist because people would rather pay less for a product. Whether it's cigarettes, pot, etc. No taxes or at the very least a minimal amount of revenue would be realized. It won't make a dent in the state budget mess.

ok, the mexican drug gang wars are over the meth and heroin trade, coupled with territory disputes over who pays the federales in that area, not pot. the mexicans gave up on pot for pot smuggling is not worth the the risk. in order to make a decent profit one must move such large caches of the drug that being discrete is difficult, yielding a bust and a loss of product and money. its just fiscally responsible. remember, these gangs are in business and ran as such. 10 pounds of meth or heroin can be hidden easily however and is worth way more on the street than the same amount of pot. plus mexican pot is the "cheap stuff" the good stuff is grown in your neighbors garage and closets. right now, its illegal for them to grow it, sell it, smoke it. but they will anyway. lets bring it to the light. the Hearst family started the smear program against hemp due to the interest they held in timber as being the source for the paper for their printings. dont get me wrong. POT IS BAD for you. its just not the insidious creator of mayhem people think it is. i would rather see my law enforcement dollars go to stopping meth or oxy than pot. and alot of pot advocates shoot themselves in the foot with their way to try and sell the idea. the store price will not be any higher than the illegal price once pot can be grown in fields like corn. supply and demand dictate that.

Wow harleyrider, your 11:34 am post about the grammatical error was right on. I didn't catch it at first, but I looked back and saw it. Good job, I'm impressed. No offense Auburner.

None taken. I used my degree as shim stock for aligning my laser beam...that's how you use a degree to engineer. On another note: I can't wait for pot to be legal. I am going to convert my property into 'Auburner Farms'. We will have a tasting room, weddings, an 18 hole golf course, gardens, a train ride for the kiddies, tours of the processing facility, infused olive oil.

Hmmmm, still getting response's from the article. Great! Those of you interested in legalizing marijuana and feel that they may be able to help me

e-mail me please, hardtimetim@yahoo.com

HTTim, you need to go to SF and stay with Gavin, the guy that you stole your words from or maybe you are Newsome.

Auburner, you forgot about the gourmet deli sandwiches you could sell while the customers are there. It's a gold mine!

Look folks, you aren't going to have a mad dash to the dispensaries if pot is legalized. The same people who are going to buy it there are already getting it illegally.

As for pot leading to harder drugs, that simply is not true. That was an old scare tactic used in the 60's. People choose their drug of choice, it's either not for you or it is.

Analyst, most kids that use the heavier drugs started with MJ around 14 years old. With the lowered inhibitions they moved onto other things. Some do just stick with weed though. Auburner, what type of products do you "email" that saves you from driving? This isn't a grammar contest. It makes you seem pretty week to take it there.

Getalong, they still bring weed up but they also come here with hired Mexican illegals to grow pot in the foothills on us forest land, etc. You are wrong.

"Dzakowic cited a state Police Officers Association report that linked pot dispensaries to illegal drug use, sales, robberies, loitering ...." Wow. You could say the same thing about a shopping mall or one of Placer County's over-developed tract house nightmares. 'Can't wait until Bickford Ranch is brought up again by the Placer County Supes. Talk about "there goes the neighborhood" .

harley: you are right, i hope i didn't sound like mexican weed doesn't show and they damage our forests with their grows. but the mexi weed is cheap and of poor quality. any regular smoker would take high grade indoor green bud over mexi brown weed any day. if we allow the green to flourish and sell it openly we will drive the market for poor quality herb away. think of it as a starbucks moving next door to a mom and pop coffee stand. why settle for a cup of mud when you could have hand roasted organically grown free trade nigerian beans? pots gonna be smoked and part of the trouble is it ties up our law enforcement. if we remove the need to be clandestine with pot whole new circles of drug users will be visibles that may allow for further survellance into the drug rings. once more intel can be gathered about these people and what they do and who they know and where they get what from and from who and how much it costs and on and on and on... allowing pot use for taxations and further criminal analysis is the reasons behind my support. that and frankly, i dont care. i could lecture for hours on how pot is bad for the brain and use data you can take to the bank but overall its not my business if you smoke pot. i smoked for years, all stoners do is laugh and eat and think they are thinking real hard. whats so bad about that?

The thing that is wrong about it is #1, no taxes will be realized. If it's legalized and taxed it will only add to the black market for weed. #2 the pot grown here on California on forest lands is very high grade. Even with legalization they will continue their operations because they will still profit, probably more so if it were legalized because it would cause them to lower prices to undercut the legalized weed. #3 those same growers are armed while tending their gardens. This will also not cease and if you are a hiker and stumble across them expect violence.

harleyrider dont you have some biker gang club meeting to go to? arent you bikers all evil?I saw the wild ones. are you a 1%er

maybe we wont see eye to eye on it. oh well. desperate times call for desperate measures and california is in a desperate state of affairs veen if we see 100 million in taxes from those who choose to buy legitimate herb, we saw that much. and the information we could glean would provide a tool for law enforcement they did not have the capacity to see prior. but, thats just my pov. and there goes fred420 again, not doing his cause any good.

Please forgive my late entry to this thead and my impatience for not reading all of the 60+ previous posts. Money raised by taxation is secondary. Controling the criminal element is primary...as it was in alcohol...and should be in prostitution and marijuana. You can argue and whizz and moan all you like, but if this is done correctly the criminal element will feel the heat...pun intended

a_flock_of_smeagols: Just 'cause you couldn't handle it.....

jab1pc thank you. let em smoke pot. its a back door to investigate...

timeslip: Supplimenting booze with pot was a contributing factor, but nobody is advocating mixing the two...if Dann had been only smoking pot that night, chances are those two funerals wouldn't have taken place.

my point being not all bikers are bad { i happen to ride also} just as all pot smokers are not lazy hippies

steelybob, any relation to steelydan? Great music. I know many who drink socially, and find that a couple of drinks over dinner occasionally is a value add. As with anything, moderation is a good thing.

For the stoners, did you know that every time you take a hit off that joint, your blood pressure rises? If you don't believe me, get a blood pressure monitor, and test it out. But don't turn it into a drinking game. And please don't drive under the influence. I believe in personal freedom and personal responsibility. Kids, including many under the age of 30, they don't realize the risks that come with the 2-4 beers and a few hits off a 'very green' joint. Especially if they are fatigued, it's a deadly mix.

Local pot shops will influence the behaviors, even if it does not increase the local street supply. My guess it will also increase the supply for our kids, as I assume it will be the high quality stuff they are providing for those with the scripts. And it will add to the cost in human lives. I just hope it is not my family or yours.

The solution to the government fiscal problem is to reduce spending, not find weird ways to raise revenue. Sin taxes never solve the problem, because government always outgrows the income in the good times, and they don't have any grownups in charge during bad times. Proof: Let's tax dope to get us out of this mess.....

You have to be high to think taxing pot is going to solve this state's fiscal problems.

Taxing growing equipment might help, but it would be short term.

Lets face it. People who smoke dope are not going to pay taxes. They will buy dope when its convenient and pay taxes, but soon they will be growing their own, and trading with friends via the black market.

How many people pay taxes on a set of rims, TV, or anything else they buy through Craig's List?

The only people that will pay taxes are the big growers who will do so because they cannot afford to get busted for tax fraud.

EyesWide1: Ironic name given the way you are squinting in the photo.

Did it ever occur to you that your arguments may not have been persuasive because you are stoned?

Ever see a video of a drunk trying to convince a cop that he's not a drunk driver? Stoners are also very apparent by their lack of ability to form rational arguments, loss of concentration, and a tendency to fall asleep in the middle of their closing argument.

To the naysayers about taxing -Oakland taxes the dispenseries and it's working, and other cities nationwide have followed suit. Please show me the links to support your statement that it wouldn't work, you seem so certain and speak with such authority you must have information to prove it.

A TON of misinformation and stereotyping being put out on this thread by the anti crowd. As someone said above, this all started with the timber industry and hemp, and "Reefer Madness", because of this a valuable resource is not able to be used. I would suggest looking up the user profile "truthfinder" on here and reading some of his blogs on this site and then continue to research, you might be surprised at just how wrong you actually are. I would also suggest you get used to the idea that it WILL be legal by the end of this year. What ramifications this will have for Placer County if they ban now I'm not certain. Those that want to prevent the ban need to organize themselves and also encourage those who do not have a problem with the co-ops and dispenseries to write the BOS.

Well, I see that a blog with well over 100 comments of excellent information that was there VERY recently has been removed by the AJ. No doubt because SOMEONE on here complained and used a technicality like a link in the blog to have it removed. Guess that's one way to keep people misinformed and compliant to how YOU want them to think, remove the information from them so they remain in the dark. Whomever used such tactics - you are pathetic.

timeslip: Yes, that is great music...we're cousins. ;-)

Eventhough I mentioned that if only pot had been involved, chances are Dann wouldn't have been involved in an accident, I didn't mean to imply that it's harmless behind the wheel...I meant that the combination of the two has a devastating affect on one's ability to drive...alcohol alone to a lesser extent & pot alone to yet an even lesser degree.

Fred420, biker club? I ride alone and belong to no clubs. You state in your first post a reference about the 1% er biker community bu then later state you were making a point about stereotyping bikers like people stereotype stoners. Did you smoke today? You contradicted yourself. Unless the stereotyping you were trying to make is that 99% of bikers are law abiding contributing citizens and that 1% are involved in criminal activities. In that case you were spot on.

Status quo isn't working, you cannot argue with that. You want to keep pouring billions of dollars into a system that has failed in every sense of the word? Educate yourself beyond the deliberate demonization and stereotyping and many of you might actually be pissed that you've been sold the B.S. which you have insisted on further perpetuating here.

kittyv said it best

goldpinner theres a whole race of people with " squinty eyes" are you telling me their all stoned? are you now a racist?

"In California, where medical marijuana is already legal, a massive campaign is underway to legalize all uses of the drug. George Soros and other pro-drug legalization organizations claim that tax revenues from marijuana sales would fill the empty coffers of the state with at least $1.4 billion for the first year. The more users, the more money for the state. Soros, whose motto is, "If I spend enough, I make it right,"

But how much would governmental administration add to the cost? And what will happen when the "tax" is added on? When the government outsources the production and distribution, would pharmaceutical and new marijuana-cigarette producers be asked to give up their profits? How much would it cost to investigate the black market that will flourish supplying groups prohibited by law from receiving drugs--adolescents, airline pilots, police officers, etc.? This new industry could create jobs. But are there going to be enough sober workers to perform them?" Rachel Ehrenfeld

Even if 1.4 billion were generated it would be used up by those who aquire health problems, asthma, etc from smoking weed, eating Twinkies, and carpal tunnel from too much time on the xbox and playstation. Not too mention I don't want my tax dollars that go to the welfare reipients to be spent buying weed at a dispensary. Even though it would still be purchased on the black market. Welfare recipients will refuse to pay tax on weed. No revenue or at least minimal would be realized through taxing weed.

fred: In order to be a racist, I would have to know what race the guy is...which I don't.

Kitty: The reason that dispensaries are paying the taxes is that they cannot afford to get shut down.

When dope is legal, few will bother will cards, dispensaries, and purchasing through taxed business structures.

Anyone can grow dope. Alcohol is much harder to produce, that is why it automatically lends itself to mass production and distribution, hence legalization/taxation.

Tobacco only grows in a restricted environment.That is why it automatically lends itself to mass production and distribution, hence legalization/taxation.

Pot grows in dirt with just a little water, sun and fertilizer. Why would someone pay hundreds/thousands a year for dope when they can grow it?

Gold, why would people pay for food if they can grow it?

Because food is harder to grow than weed

Plus who's really motivated to grow food after they get stoned when they can just roll up to 7-11 for some doritos?

good lord Placer County is FULL of redneck uneducated goobers.

"Dzakowic cited a state Police Officers Association report that linked pot dispensaries to illegal drug use, sales, robberies, loitering around dispensaries and falsely obtained ID cards."

sounds like the same problems as booze, tobacco, gambling and porn. Plenty of those in Placer.

HYPOCRISY, the all-Amurrcan value! USA! USA! USA!

Here's what really suck's. I go to a mac meeting on the subject of medical marijuana. What I find out is that our planning commission is trying to ramrod some bill through so that dispensary's won't be allowed. Hmmmm, the problem with this is the planning commission skipped the mac's and went on and voted it in. So why do we have mac's if the planning commission can just do has it feels. Well I think not! And now that its been brought to the public's mind, I hope we can find who really is spearheading this bull through without our say. This is getting hot, and there just might be a few rump's Bar-b-qued. I love a good Bar-B-Q :)

I would like to reply to the comment made that Marinol is marijuanna in pill form. I am a pharmacist and to clarify, Marinol (dronabinol) is only one of 52 known cannabinoids found in marijuanna. Depending on the patient's medical condition, Marinol may or may not work for them.